Why I Considered Stockpiling Water in Jerrycans & Why I’m Stocking Bottled Water Instead

Why I Considered Stockpiling Water in Jerrycans & Why I’m Stocking Bottled Water Instead

I’ve done very little water stockpiling in the past for a few different reasons:

I lived in Canada, where rain and precipitation in general has never been an issue.

Again, I lived in Canada, so rivers, streams, and bodies of water in general were both plentiful and easily accessible.

I’ve always lived in a house with a backyard, where I could set up buckets, tarps, and whatever else I wanted for collecting water in a pinch.

Though this wasn’t an instant way to get water if an emergency situation ever happened, things being what they were, I was never motivated enough to bother stockpiling very much water at all (besides a few packs of water bottles for the car of course).

Things are different now. Thomas and I live in the UK, which to be fair also has no issue with a lack of precipitation or bodies of water. The issue lies in the fact thatwe now live in a flat, and so if we needed to collect water, it’d be tricky to do so without leaving our building if we ever felt it unsafe to be outside.

So I need to stockpile water now. It’s not a question. The best food stockpile in the world would be little more than useless if you didn’t also have access to water for an emergency.

I’m not sure why it never occurred to me from the start to simply stockpile bottled water. Maybe it’s because I was fixated on costs in the long run – because in that respect it’s much more feasible to go for a jerrycan solution over a bottled water one.

The thing is that being in a studio apartment means I have very limited space when it comes to stockpiling water. What I would do in a house would likely be completely different. I’d probably use both methods, to maximize the benefits of each – as well as having a large number of water collection methods in place.

Regardless, I’ve decided that in this flat, stocking bottled water instead of stocking water in jerrycans is the way to go. Why?

12 Reasons I’m Stocking Bottled Water Instead of Tap Water in Jerrycans

1. Bottled water is factory sealed with no contaminants.

If prepared incorrectly, bottling your own water can turn into a disaster. Water that’s been exposed to bacteria (which, when it comes out of the tap it usually is exposed to the bacteria in your house and in the air) has a good chance of letting that bacteria grow if it’s left alone. That’s why most people will boil the water they want to stockpile before putting it into a jerrycan to store it. And why most will also add some bleach to prevent that bacteria from growing even if it does somehow manage to get into the water. Wise things to do – and they’ll work, but if you buy factory-sealed water instead, you’ve already got water that’s been sealed with no bacteria in it.

2. Stockpiling bottled water takes a lot less work.

Because you don’t have to boil it and add bleach to it yourself. Just buy what you need and throw it in a dark corner, away from pretty much anything else, and you’re all set to go.

3. Easier to switch bottled water in and out.

A fan of rotating through your food stockpile? I am, and I’d see water stockpiles as no different. Yes, I absolutely would drink bottled water way past their “best before” date. Does that mean I wouldn’t rotate through them at all? Hell no. I might as well be rotating through them, especially if I’m using bottled water to begin with. Instead of using regular water bottles, I often throw already bottled water in an EDC bag and go. I refill them a couple times with tap water then throw them out. Again, this may not be the most cost-efficient way of doing things, but since I do it anyway, I might as well take advantage of it by helping to keep a water stockpile fresh.

4. Bottled water is infinitely easier to use than jerrycans would be.

If an emergency comes, I’d much rather use a bottle of water than a jerrycan to get through that emergency situation. Some jerricans have taps that make them easier to use, which is great, until you realize that those taps often leak. Even if you manage to get one with a tap that isn’t leaky – no one could possibly argue that having a few water bottles around would not be easier to use. It’s just much more convenient.

5. Bottled water stands less of a chance of being contaminated when used.

When water is exposed to air, it has a chance of ending up with some sort of bacteria. The longer it stays out in that air, the higher that chance, and over time, when bacteria does get into the water, this can become a problem – unless you boil the water before drinking it toget rid of bacteria. Bottled water will last longer than water in jerrycans because once you open the bottle or the jerrycan to use the water inside, time before it needs to be re-purified starts ticking away. You can use a bottle or two without having to re-purify/boil the water – not true of large jerrycans, where you’ll have to boil the water if you’ve left it for too long without using it.

Yes, it’s better to have the water in jerrycans than no water at all. Absolutely. You can boil the water you have in there and make it completely drinkable once again. But I would rather stockpile bottled water to begin with, so that I no longer need to worry about using the water before it needs to be re-purified.

6. If there are any leaks or breaks, I’d rather few bottles going than an entire jerrycan.

Shit happens. And I’d rather not have all my eggs in one or two baskets – or all my water in one or two jerrycans. That sounds horrifying to me. I’d rather have a bunch of water bottles. In case I happen to break one somehow, it’s not an issue. If I break one of my two or three jerrycans, it’s a pretty big issue.

7. Bottled water is easier to ration.

If you decide you need to drink “x” amount per day to be safe for “x” number of days – you can easily pull out the right amount of bottles to do the trick. Not so easy with a jerrycan water stockpile. Yes, completely possible as you can measure out the right amount of water, but still not as clear and simple as pulling out the right number of bottles.

8. Bottled water is easier to transport.

Need to get your water supply from your house to your mum’s because she’s got a fireplace and you haven’t, so her place is more ideal for camping out in? Well throw those bottles or jerrycans in the car and go. Gonna have a lot harder time with the jerrycans, especially if you’re not very strong or have a bad back, especially if they’re big jerrycans. Water is heavy. Transporting it can be a real issue.

9. Bottled water is also easier to give away.

Relatives need some water to get them through? Yes, they should have stockpiled, but luckily you have enough for everyone. Much easier to hand off a few bottles of water than it is to pour them a jug to take home.

10. Bottled water is easier to trade.

If you ever do get into a situation where you need to trade off some water, bottled water is much easier to do this with. It’s also much easier to hide the fact that you’ve got plenty more where that came from than if you were giving out water that came from a jerrycan. You could say you just happened to have a few water bottles lying around, and trade those. Versus if you have a jerrycan, you’re going to get some people confused as to why you had water around without the taps on in the first place. Much harder to cover up.

11. You’ll still look like an ordinary person if you’ve got a lot of water bottles stocked up. Not so if you have jerrycans.

You can stick bottled water in the closet if you want, stick plenty of it in the car, have some at work – stick it wherever the heck you want and it won’t really look funny or be an issue particularly because it’s just bottled water – you’ll look like a camper or one of those folks who just doesn’t like to drink tap water. This will help you keep under the radar if that’s important to you.

12. Overall, bottled water is also easier to store.

Because it’s easier to lift, you can throw it near anywhere in your house. You can get a bunch of small jerrycans to do that with, or even have water bricks, but that would defeat the point of having a cheap solution to the water storage problem, in my opinion.

How do you store water?

Which way do you prefer for storing water for a stockpile? Do you use just one method, or multiple? Do you have different methods of water storage for different types of water? Do you even need to stockpile water where you live? Let me know in the comments section!

Comments 4

A couple of points I’d like to make: (1) assuming factory-bottled water has been purified and is completely free of anything that should not be in it is making a mistake. Some water bottling companies simply bottle water right out of the tap. If you want to be certain your’s is not simply tap water, go to the bottler and ask; (2) in item 9 you used the example of family. Now, who would not help their own family?! If you are smart, you will include your family in your stockpile plans, maybe even expect them to contribute and share the labor. But if word gets out you are stockpiling, your “friends”‘ neighbors, co-workers and thugs will show up on your doorstep either asking or strong-arming their way into your location. Loose lips sink ships, as we always say in the Navy. OPSEC! Keep your and your childrens’ mouths shut!

I store bottled water and after emptying a large Soda bottle I wash it and then fill it with water from my Berkey filter and mark filtered water…water from the tap I also bottle and mark it for sanitary purposes..e.g. flushing the toilet or cleaning.

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